With so much uncertainty hanging over their NHL franchise and mounting speculation it will shortly be relocating back to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Coyotes fans were angry, confused and sullenly preparing for the worst.

"I think it's the beginning of the last games we'll see in this building, and I'm extremely upset," said season-ticket holder Tim Kaminski, 28, of Phoenix. "I've been following this team since it started in 1996, and I've got a commemorative puck from that very first game on Oct. 10 vs. the Sharks.

"Lord knows I feel like burning the arena down if they have to leave. I'm not going to, but that's how I feel."

Sydney Cerata of Glendale and her family have been season-ticket holders from the beginning, too. She and her 16-year-old son, Connor, were at Monday night's game and they each said they hope a resolution can be found to keep the Coyotes in Glendale.

"What's going to happen to this whole area if the sale doesn't go through?" Sydney Cerata said. "It's just horrible. I'm sick about the whole thing."

Said Connor: "It's going to be a disappointment to the Westgate City Center. And their arena in Winnipeg is nothing compared to what we have here. Plus, they don't have the stability, the housing or the population that we have."

But they apparently do have an owner ready to step in and broker a deal to keep the team alive. The prospective new owner trying to secure the Coyotes and keep them here, Matthew Hulsizer, has not been seen or heard from in days.

"The whole thing is just a mess," said Coyotes fan Tristan Rupp, 28, of Phoenix. "I paid attention to the sale, but once it started dragging on, I stopped really caring and paying attention.

"I just want my hockey."

Rupp's brother, Justin, lays blame at the Goldwater Institute as well as the City of Glendale. He said the former has done too much meddling and the latter didn't act swiftly enough earlier in the process.

"I think the people with the casino project should have gotten on board with the financing, too," he said. "Then we probably wouldn't have this problem."

So what happens if the Coyotes leave for Winnipeg? Kaminski and the Rupp brothers said they'll head up north to watch minor-league hockey in Prescott Valley and take trips to Denver to watch the NHL's Avalanche.

Would they go to Winnipeg?

"Hell, no!" Kaminski shouted.

What about the Ceratas? How would they fill the void from losing the Coyotes, for whom they have shown so much passion and spirit over the years?

"I don't know what we're gong to do," Sydney Cerata said. "I have no clue. . . . I don't want to go to the Diamondbacks."